Monday, February 17, 2014

" Reasons why I DO NOT LIKE Qatar Airways "

After coming home from Paris to Manila,
It bothered me whether or not I should vent out my dismay at this 5 star airline or just let it be.
After all, a trivial matter of one customer's dissatisfaction leaves nothing of importance.

Last 2011, Pepperoni and I had our first Euro trip and were headed to Barcelona,
which would arrived the same day given the 7 hour time difference.

One of the many disadvantages in booking a flight here ( apart from acquiring a Schengen Visa and having it approved )
is that there are No Direct Flight to Europe.
Hence, a stop over is definitely needed.
The best option we could find at its cheaper rates at that time was Qatar.

We stopped at DOHA, took a shuttle ride to the airport, wheeled ourselves in and out of the check in / immigration area,
and then got settled as we patiently waited for our flight to Barcelona.
Still 5-ish in the morning and the area wasn't crowded yet, even have lots of available seats.

and this is how you do it:
you can sleep comfortably in one of these. ( i wonder if they don't get terrible stiff necks and back aches after ). ^-^

Around 7-ish in the morning, as the crowds have started to gather, so does the noise begins.
the PA announcing flights for boarding, you hear people talking, sneezing, coughing, laughing, skype-ing (like me) and the works. ^0^

Up in the air, the view doesn't get any better than this!
Look at how the sky changes from orange to blue.
hehe! i'm like a kid, i know. ^0^

At some point before landing,
you're asked to fill up this immigration card.

Now the moment we've been waiting for.
How was the food on the plane?

VERDICT: Very Good~!

PS: * these are not in chronological order, I can't remember which portion we had during and after,
but just an idea of what it look like. *

Here's the on-screen menu:

The meals were freshly served and delicious.
They don't have that airplane taste . (if you know what i mean...)
I think this was the breakfast set.

nicely designed cup. ^0^

delectable cajun wraps (snacks in between flights)

Now I think this was our first dindin,
I paired it with a small bottle of red wine, it helps me sleep. ^0^

even the saltine crackers were tasty.

I usually leave desserts behind, *sorry*
I always find it either too sweet or bland.
Surprisingly though,
they all tasted good. ^0^

Economy seats were so-so,
not much leg room,
but for me, this was better compared to KLM's economy seat,

Even the In-house entertainment (movies, tv shows, games , musics) houses a variety than most of the airlines don't have.

Here's me, reading my journal wondering what's the first thing we should do.

In summary, we arrived safely to and from our destination and without delays.

B.U.T :

and there's the big BUT,
apart from all the good things I've shared,
what it lack was its SERVICE.

The main reason was how flight attendants treated fellow passengers,
especially our local OFW's (*Overseas Filipino Workers*) without much respect and diplomacy.
I'm not talking about the foreign staffs at Qatar,
who were nothing but nice, accommodating and managed to put on a smile even when they're obviously tired with our rants and requests.
BUT those local Pinoy stewardess (not all),
who thinks highly of themselves and were clearly rude and disgruntled with their work.

On our way home from DOHA to Manila,
we were asked to queue for more than an hour, waiting to have our boarding pass checked and scanned,
my back was aching from carrying my backpack with me,
I thought the line would only take less than say 15 minutes.

When I reached the counter, not even a smile or hello from the ground staff.

On board the plane,
except for a few (like us) who were out of town for leisure,
majority of the passengers were ofws, they usually come in groups with
different sizes of hand carry luggage ranging from small to large.

1: Not one pinoy stewardess helped, they would only point at which overhead compartment was available.
( in other airlines, a foreign staff would instantly lend a hand without asking for it )

2: Instead of asking kindly to put the window shades down,
one attendant literally mandated the passenger,
"Bring the shades down and don't open it!, I already told you awhile ago."
( is that how you treat passengers? like 2 year old kids?! )

3: The passenger beside me was sleeping soundly, oblivious at his surroundings with his seat reclining.
Before landing, the stewardess came, instead of gently tapping at this guy ( who was again a local ofw),
the attendant shook him hard and said : " Put your seat in upright position, we're landing. "
( this is true,not making it up )

4: No food choices, they wouldn't even ask you what meals you like,
they hand it to you like some food ration,
take it or leave it.
( they can't wait for you to finish the meal, so they can rest early, now that's service! )

5: When it was finally my turn to go to the restroom, this very rude stewardess,
literally cuts my line and went inside,
obviously pretending as if I wasn't there.
afterwards. not even an apology, but a sheepishly smile and said," you can go inside now".
( yes, i was fuming mad afterwards, so mad, i was about to head to the complain department after we landed )

6: I find it unpleasant that a pinoy stewardess would smile while talking to a well-educated foreigner,
but not to a local ofw.
( if that isn't double standard, i don't know what is. )

7: I found out later that Pinoy attendants from Qatar airways were trained by Philippine Airlines,
not sure if it's true, but based on their performance, they have some similarities.

Overall, it was BAD SERVICE .
I wish I hadn't been on that plane,
this review would've been different.

It reminds me of Philippine Airlines all over again, that kind of seniority and discrimination.
I'm not sure if I want to book a flight again, at least, not yet for now.

photo cache: I have much Respect to any hardworking self-sacrificing workers, don't get me wrong about that. unfortunately, i didn't see that.

about #5- NO, She wasn't cleaning the toilet, I would've known that, because when I went inside, it still smells awful, not clean, tissues were everywhere, truth was, I think she was prepping herself minutes before landing, took awhile inside before coming out of the loo.